Chaos Drivers
by Rav4Rabbit
Summary: Chapter 5 is FINALLY finished, but I may or may not continue the story after this chapter. Please Read n Review and let me know what you think.
1. The final exam

**Chaos Drivers**

Disclaimers: I don't own Monster Rancher or the songs mentioned in this story.

The model names of the cars are registered trademarks of their respective companies.

Chapter 1: The final exam

Inside a small two-story building in a village, Genki and Holly were sitting at their desks filling out the answer sheets on their written driving tests. Hare had just finished his test and he walked to the front of the room to turn it in. Suezo had not written anything on his paper; he was just staring at the first page! "Oh God, I don't remember any of this stuff!" he whispered nervously. Golem finished his test, and he looked over his answer sheet a few times before turning it in. Mocchi, who was sitting beside Tiger, was only on question 2. He leaned over and whispered to Tiger, "What did you get for question 2?" Tiger tried to ignore Mocchi, but he wouldn't stop asking Tiger for the answers. Finally, Tiger said, "Just put C for all the answers." Pixie and Moo were both sitting in the back row, and Pixie was on the last question of her test. Moo leaned over and glanced at Pixie's paper and copied down her answers.

Five minutes later, the instructor announced, "Time's up. Everyone stop writing." She walked around the room and picked up everyone's test papers and walked to the front of the room. Then she said, "Your tests will be graded and returned to you tomorrow. Anyone who makes less than 65 percent on the written exam has to retake it tomorrow. Those of you who pass the written exam will be able to take the road test tomorrow."

The next day, the driving instructor passed the graded tests out to all the students in the room, and she said, "Some of you did very well on the exam, but a few of you did very poorly." Genki looked at his test paper and yelled, "All right! I got a 95!" Both Holly and Golem got a 100 on their tests. Hare, on the other hand, got a 70. He stomped up to the teacher's desk and said, "How could I have possibly gotten a 70?! I spent all of last weekend studying!" The instructor explained to him, "First of all, on question 14, you said that the biggest car has the right of way at a four-way stop. The correct answer is that the car on the right has the right of way. And on question 21, you said that when it's raining, cars are supposed to travel at exactly the posted speed limit." She kept on explaining all the other answers that Hare got wrong. Both Moo and Pixie got an 80 on their tests, and Tiger made a 90 on his. Mocchi was jumping up and down excitedly and screaming, "I got 85! I got 85 chi!" Suezo made a 45 on his test and he has to take it again tomorrow.


	2. Genki behind the wheel

Chapter 2: Genki behind the wheel

The morning after Genki took his written driving test, he arrived at the driving school at 9:00 to take the road test. After he waited in the office for about fifteen minutes, a fat bald man walked in the door. He asked, "Are you Genki?" Genki got up from his chair and said, "That's me!" The man said to Genki, "I'm going to be your driving instructor for the road test today, so let's go ahead and get started." "All right!" Genki exclaimed enthusiastically. They both walked out to the parking lot where the driving school's cars were parked. "We're going to use this car today," said the driving instructor, as he pointed to an orange 1990 Honda Prelude with yellow bumpers, a sunroof, and automatic seat belts. Genki shouted, "Yes! A sports car! Just what I've always wanted to drive!" The overweight driving teacher handed the keys to Genki, and Genki unlocked the car doors and they both got in. He cranked up the car and put it in Drive. The car didn't move, so Genki floored the accelerator. Again, the car stayed put. Then the instructor said, "Yo, Genki. You left the parking brake on." Genki replied, "Oh yeah. My bad." Genki released the parking brake lever, and the car jerked forward a little bit with the sound of screeching tires.

Then Genki drove around to the empty parking area behind the building where several orange cones were arranged in different patterns. The driving instructor pointed to one set of cones and told Genki, "What I want you to do is weave in and out of those cones, and do it again in the opposite direction," while making a zigzag motion with his finger. Genki pulled up to the right side of the first cone and stopped the car. Then he let his foot off the brake pedal, turned the steering wheel to the left, and tapped the accelerator pedal. Genki then jerked the wheel to the right, and the car knocked over the third cone. The man told Genki, "All right, you went a bit too fast that time. Just take it easy." Genki steered the car through the other cones with no problem. The driving instructor scribbled some notes in his notepad, then pointed to another set of cones and said to Genki, "Now I want you to back the car up between those four cones." Genki drove the car up to the edge of the pavement, and then put the car in Reverse. The car slowly approached the four cones arranged as a rectangle. Genki steered the car until it was within the cones, and he did it without hitting any of the cones. The instructor scribbled more notes in his notepad, then he told Genki, "Now you have to parallel park between those four cones at the other end of the lot." Genki drove the car towards the other side of the pavement, turned the front wheels to the left, and backed the car in between the pairs of cones. Then he put the car in Drive and hit a cone with the front of the car. "Damn it!" he said, banging his fist against the steering wheel. Genki put the car in Reverse again and turned the steering wheel to the right. He tapped the accelerator, hit a cone with the back of the car, and slammed on the brake. "Crap! I can't do this!" Genki said loudly. The instructor said to Genki, "Chill, man. You didn't do too bad; you just need to practice parallel parking some more. For the most part, though, I think you're ready to drive on the road now." Genki drove around the building to the front parking lot and stopped the car before turning onto the busy street.

While Genki was waiting to turn onto Toshiba Boulevard, the driving instructor said, "When you get a chance, turn right and stay in the right lane." Genki turned on the right turn signal lights and waited several seconds for a break in the traffic. Then he turned onto the highway and accelerated until the speedometer reached 60 MPH. Just then, Genki noticed that they were way too close to the red pickup truck in front of them, so he took his foot off the accelerator pedal for several seconds, and the blue sedan behind Genki came up extremely close to the orange Prelude and blasted its horn four times before dangerously overtaking the sports car. Genki's instructor told him, "You always gotta pay attention when you drive." "But I WAS paying attention, so cut me some slack, Jack!" Genki replied. The instructor said to Genki, "I know, but you should never make the assumption that all the other drivers on the road are paying attention to you. If you do make that assumption, you become an ass, and the ump will shun you." Genki continued driving down the highway for about three minutes, then he asked, "Can I turn the radio on?" "Sure," said the instructor. "But don't turn it up too loud." Genki turned on the car radio, and then turned the tuning knob until he found 103.1, the All 80's Station. The song "Get Out of My Dreams; Get Into My Car" by Billy Ocean was playing, and Genki said loudly, "Hey, that's my jam!" Then he started singing along: "Get out of my dreams. Get into my car. Get out off my dreams... backseat baby, get into my car. Get out of my mind. Get into my life..." The instructor told Genki, "Okay, you see that traffic light up ahead? I want you to turn left on that street." Genki turned on the left turn blinker, looked in the rearview mirror, and glanced over his left shoulder out the driver's side window. When the left lane was clear, Genki merged over into that lane. As he approached the intersection, Genki took his foot off the accelerator and gently applied the brakes. Suddenly, a gold van with red bumpers moved into the left lane just a few feet in front of Genki's car. Genki slammed his foot down on the brake pedal, and with the sound of skidding tires, the car came to a stop about six inches from the back of the van. The driving instructor took out his notepad and scribbled some notes on a blank page. When the left-turn traffic light turned green, Genki (and five other cars in the left lane) turned left on Panasonic Drive, and the song "Don't Stand So Close to Me" by The Police began playing on the radio. After traveling for about two blocks, they approached a stop sign at a four-way intersection. The gold and red van in front of Genki came to a stop at the stop sign, and Genki slammed the brake pedal and stopped just a couple of inches behind the van. The van drove straight through the intersection, and Genki pulled the car up a little closer to the stop sign. "Genki!" said the instructor, "You see how close you came to rear-ending that van?! You need to hit the brakes a lot earlier than that in order to stop soon enough. This car can't stop on no dime!" The young boy said, "All right, I'm sorry. I'll try to do better." "Yeah, right. That'll be the day." mumbled the driving teacher. "What?" asked Genki. The teacher said, "Oh, I said 'Turn right on this street.'" Genki turned on the right turn blinker, and he looked in both directions until no other cars were coming. Then he turned right onto Onkyo Street and accelerated until the car reached 65 MPH. They passed a sign which said "Speed Limit 45 MPH", and the fat man said to Genki, "Slow down a little bit. The speed limit is only 45." Genki took his foot off the accelerator pedal until the car slowed down to 45 MPH. A few minutes later, they passed a sign that said "Sony Expressway 1 ½ Miles". When they reached the expressway, Genki turned right onto the entrance ramp and accelerated until the car reached 70 MPH. While Genki's car was cruising down the highway at 70 MPH, the instructor said, "Just stay on this expressway until we get to the Samsung Avenue exit." When they came to the exit ramp, Genki turned right onto the ramp and gently applied the brakes, and the car came to a complete stop at the bottom of the ramp. Genki saw that no other cars were coming towards his car, so he hit the accelerator and the car peeled out onto the street. The driving instructor picked up his notepad and scribbled down some more notes. Then he said to Genki, "It's about 11:00. You want to stop somewhere and get some lunch?" "Sure," said Genki. "But I don't have any money." The instructor said to Genki, "It's all right. I'll pay for it." About five minutes later, Genki saw a Moo Burger restaurant up ahead, and he turned on the left turn blinker and stopped in the turning lane. After a few cars passed and the road was clear, Genki turned left and pulled into the parking lot outside of the restaurant.

Genki and the driving teacher walked in the restaurant and stepped up to the counter. The young man behind the counter looked very tired; his eyes were red and watery, and his light-brown hair was messy looking. He said in a bored voice, "Welcome to Moo Burger. Can I take your order?" Genki looked at the menu sign above the counter for a minute and said, "I'd like a Double Moo Supreme with cheese, medium fries, and a large cola." The driving teacher said, "I'd like a Mini Moo burger with cheese, mayonnaise, ketchup, and pickles, large fries, and an Over-Size diet cola." The man behind the counter rang up the order on the cash register and said, "That'll be $6.57." The overweight driving instructor took $7.00 out of his pants pocket and gave it to the cashier. Then the cashier gave the instructor 43 cents and a tray with his and Genki's food on it.

After they finished eating, Genki and the driving teacher got back into the orange and yellow sports car. Genki cranked up the car, put it in Reverse, and slowly backed out of the parking space. Then he put the car in Drive, made a tight U-turn, and headed towards the street. Genki turned left and came to a stop at the intersection of Samsung Ave. and Panasonic Drive as the traffic light turned from yellow to red. When the light changed to green, Genki drove straight through the intersection. Two minutes later, he stopped at a stop sign at the next intersection. "Which way should I go?" asked Genki. The fat driving teacher told him, "Turn right." Genki turned on the right turn signal and looked in both directions before he made the turn onto Sanyo Road, which led through a residential area where the speed limit was 35 MPH. Genki tried with all his might to keep from driving faster than 35; he would just tap the accelerator pedal every now and then. As they approached the traffic light at the Sanyo Road / Toshiba Blvd. intersection, the driving teacher said, "Okay, now turn left at this light, and we can go back to the driving school." The light turned green, and Genki peeled out of the intersection as he made the turn into the left lane on Toshiba Blvd. After driving down the busy street for a few minutes, Genki saw the driving school up ahead on the left. He slowed the car down before stopping in the left turn lane, and waited for what seemed like an eternity for a gap in the oncoming traffic. Then he drove into the front parking lot outside of the building and parked the car.

Before getting out of the car, the driving instructor scribbled more notes in his notepad, and then he tore out the paper and handed it to Genki. The boy looked over the notes and the instructor told Genki, "Your driving skills are OK, but I did notice a few problems. First of all, you wait too long to stop at intersections and you slam on the brakes. You also accelerate too quickly after stopping the car. And, of course, you need to work some more on parallel parking. With that in mind, I'm going to give you a 75 on the road test, which is a passing grade." "Thanks a lot," said Genki. They both went inside the driving school office, and the driving instructor handed Genki two sheets of paper to fill out. "This is information for your driver's license," he explained to Genki. After Genki finished filling out the forms, he and the instructor went into another room with various machines. The young boy stood in front of one of the machines, which was a large camera. After the camera took Genki's picture, another machine printed out his driver's license. "Yes! I got my license!" Genki said excitedly.


	3. Holly's very first drive

Chapter 3: Holly's very first drive

After Holly took her written driving test, she arrived at the driving school at 9:30 to take her road test. She waited in the office for a few minutes, and then a tall, slender young man with a huge afro walked into the office. He was wearing a long-sleeved dress shirt, a pair of bell-bottom pants, white platform shoes, and a large gold medallion on a gold chain. He said to Holly, "Hi. How you doin'?" Holly said, "I'm fine, but I'm a little nervous about the road test. I've never driven a car before." The man told her, "Don't worry. I'm sure you'll do fine." He looked through his notepad, then he said, "You're Holly, right?" Holly stood up and said, "Yes, I am." The man said to her, "All right. I'm going to be your instructor for your driving test, so let's go ahead and get in the car." He reached into his pants pocket and pulled out the car keys, then gave the keys to Holly. They walked out to the front parking lot, and the driving instructor walked up to a silver and green 1993 Volvo station wagon with a luggage rack. He said to Holly, "This is the car we're going to use." "Okay," said Holly. She unlocked the car doors and they both got in. Holly put on her seat belt and adjusted the rearview mirrors while the instructor was adjusting his seat. Then she started up the car, put it in Reverse, and released the parking brake. Holly turned around to see out of the back window, and slowly backed the car out of the parking space. Then she put the car in Drive and slowly drove around the building to the back parking lot.

Holly stopped the car when they reached the back parking lot, which had orange cones arranged in various patterns. The driving instructor pointed to one set of cones and said, "You see those cones right there?" Holly said, "Yeah." The instructor said, "Okay, I want you to weave in and out of those cones, then turn around and do it again in the other direction." Holly took her foot off the brake pedal and the car crept forward closer to the first cone. She then turned the steering wheel to the left and gently tapped the accelerator. After she drove the car between the first two cones, she turned the steering wheel to the right and lightly pressed down the brake pedal. The car slowed down a little, but didn't stop completely. Holly managed to get the car between the next two cones without knocking them down. When she drove through the last of the cones, Holly turned the station wagon around and drove in between the cones again, and she made it through perfectly. The driving teacher pointed to a set of cones arranged in a rectangle on the other side of the lot and told Holly, "Okay, now I want you to back the car up and park it between those cones without hitting them." Holly drove towards the edge of the pavement and stopped just past the four cones. She put the car in Reverse and took her foot off the brake. She turned the steering wheel to the right and, while looking out the back window, she lightly tapped the accelerator. Holly got the car between the cones without hitting them, then she put the car in Drive and straightened out the car in the parking space. Holly stopped the car and set the parking brake, and the instructor said to her, "All right. Now I want you to drive to those cones at the other end of the lot, and parallel park in those cones. Holly drove the car to the other end of the lot where four other cones were arranged in a rectangle. She stopped the car when the middle of the car was next to the last pair of cones, turned the front wheels to the left, and slowly backed up towards the other pair of cones. When the front left wheel passed the cone next to the car, Holly turned the steering wheel to the right and gently pressed the brake pedal, and the car stopped with a few inches of space between the back bumper and the cones behind the car. Holly put the car in Drive and turned the steering wheel a little to the left. The car inched forward a little, and then Holly stopped the car and set the parking brake. The station wagon was parked evenly within the cones. The driving instructor scribbled a little in his notepad, then said, "All right. You did really good. Now I think you're ready to drive on the road, so let's go ahead and do it." Holly drove back around to the front parking lot and stopped at the entrance to the street.

While Holly was waiting for the traffic to clear so she could turn right onto Toshiba Boulevard, the instructor told her, "When you get onto the street, I want you to stay in the right lane." Holly noticed an empty space in the traffic, so she turned on the right turn signal and turned right, and the car sped up to 55 MPH. A couple of minutes later, Holly said, "I have to go to the bathroom." The driving teacher replied, "Okay, just turn into that gas station up ahead." Holly turned on the right turn signal, slowed the car down a little, and turned right into a Phoenix Gas service station. Then she parked the car in front of the convenience store. Both Holly and the driving instructor got out of the car and walked in the store. Holly walked up to Gali, who was working the cash register at the front counter, and said, "Can I have a key to the restroom?" Gali dropped the keys on the counter and said impatiently, "Here, take it!" Holly grabbed the keys and ran to the restroom at the back of the store. While Holly was in the restroom, the driving instructor was at the front counter paying for a large Slurpee and a candy bar. Holly walked up and put the restroom keys on the counter. As they were leaving the convenience store, Holly said to Gali, "See you later, Sunshine Head!" Gali yelled, "No one calls me Sunshine Head and gets away with it!" Then the driving teacher said to him, "Okay then…See you later, Brake Rotor Head!" Holly burst out laughing as they were leaving the convenience store and getting into the car.

After they got in the car, Holly turned right on Toshiba Boulevard and stopped at the Sanyo Road intersection when the traffic light turned red. Holly asked the instructor, "Should I turn or go straight?" The instructor replied, "Just keep going straight until we get to the next intersection, but get into the left lane before then." The traffic light turned green, and Holly stayed in the right lane for a few seconds, then turned on the left turn signals. She looked in her rearview mirror and glanced over her left shoulder every few seconds. She finally saw a clear space in the left lane traffic, and she carefully changed lanes. When she got to the next intersection, Holly turned on the left turn signal and gently pressed the brake pedal and the car came to a stop behind a blue Daihatsu minivan that was also stopped at the red light. After a couple of minutes, the left turn traffic light turned green, and the van drove ahead and turned left onto Panasonic Drive. Holly drove through the intersection and turned left, staying about ten feet behind the van. Although the speed limit was 45 MPH, the van was traveling at about 30 MPH. Nevertheless, Holly stayed several feet behind the van, and a white Dodge Colt was tailgating Holly's car and constantly honking its horn and flashing its headlights. The blue van stopped at a stop sign up ahead for several seconds, then continued straight through the intersection doing 30 MPH. By the time Holly approached the intersection, it had begun to rain, so she turned on the windshield wipers and headlights. The driving teacher told Holly, "Now I want you to turn right at this street." The fourteen-year-old girl turned on the right turn signal and gradually applied the brakes, and she waited several seconds at the stop sign before turning. After Holly turned onto Onkyo Street, she accelerated to 40 MPH, and it began to rain even harder, so Holly took her foot off the accelerator until the car slowed to 35 MPH. The car behind Holly continued to honk its horn impatiently and flash its lights, so Holly accelerated to 40 MPH. After a couple of minutes, the cars passed a sign that said, "Sony Expressway: 1 ½ Miles." Holly turned right onto the expressway on-ramp, and the rain eased up a little. She maintained a steady speed of 65 MPH, while the white Colt hatchback was still on her bumper. Finally, the hatchback passed the station wagon and sped away at 88 MPH. As Holly was approaching the Toshiba Boulevard exit ramp, she asked the instructor, "Do you want me to get off the expressway here?" The teacher said, "No, just keep going, and get off at the Samsung Avenue exit." A few minutes later, Holly turned right on the exit ramp leading to Samsung Avenue and stopped at the yield sign. She turned on the right turn blinker and waited for three more cars to pass, and then the teenage girl pulled out into traffic.

After Holly had been driving down Samsung Avenue for three minutes, the driving instructor asked her, "Are you all right? You want to stop and get something to eat or anything?" "No thanks," Holly answered. "I'm fine." Then the driving instructor said, "Holly, you're a really good driver." "Thanks," Holly replied. "This is the first time I've ever driven a car. I thought I would drive much worse than this." Holly saw that the traffic light up the street had turned from green to yellow, so she took her foot off the gas. As the car came closer to the intersection, Holly gently applied the brakes and the car came to a stop a few feet behind a brown Honda Civic taxicab. The traffic lights turned green a few minutes later, and the brown taxicab turned right. Holly drove straight through the intersection, and the instructor said, "I want you to turn right on the next street." Holly turned on the right turn blinkers and slowed the car down. She made the turn onto Sanyo Road, and the car headed through the neighborhood. Suddenly, a boy on a bicycle rode down his driveway and into the street, into the path of Holly's car. Holly screamed as she slammed on the brakes and honked the horn. Fortunately, the boy was on the other side of the street by the time the car stopped. Holly was shaking nervously and tears were rolling down her face. "It's okay!" the driving teacher said to her. "You didn't hit that kid. It's not your fault that he rode out in front of the car. Just relax and calm down." Holly finally calmed down, and she continued driving slowly through the neighborhood. She stopped at the traffic lights at the Toshiba Boulevard intersection. The driving teacher told her to turn left onto Toshiba Boulevard; when the left turn traffic light turned green, Holly drove slowly into the junction and turned left. After about five minutes, Holly slowed the car down and stopped in the left turn lane and turned on the left turn signals. When she saw a clear space in the traffic, the teenage girl turned left towards the driving school and parked the station wagon in the front parking lot.

After Holly's driving instructor finished jotting down some more notes, he tore the sheet of paper out of his notepad and gave it to Holly. The teacher said to her, "You were one of my best students, and you have excellent driving skills. I was just a bit concerned when you panicked earlier in that residential area and slammed on the brakes when that kid rode out in front of the car. So I gave you a 95 on your driving test. Keep up the good work and try not to panic so much." Holly replied, "Okay. Thank you very much." They both walked into the office and the instructor handed Holly some forms to fill out. Holly finished the paperwork and she went with her teacher into another room with several machines in it. The fourteen-year-old girl stood in front of a machine which took her picture, then another machine printed out her driver's license.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed it! Please review! I may need some ideas for my next chapters.


	4. Cruisin' with Golem

Chapter 4: Cruisin' with Golem

Golem arrived at the driving school at 10:00 on the day after he took his written driving test. He waited for a few minutes in the front office, then a young woman with long brown hair walked in the office. She was holding a notepad and pen in her right hand and a cup of coffee in her left hand. The woman was wearing a pink T-shirt, blue jeans with holes in the knees, brown sandals, and flowers in her hair. When she saw Golem, she said, "Can I help you?" Golem answered, "Yes. I am Golem, and I am here to take my driving test." The woman said, "Okay. Let me get the keys to the car and we can go ahead and begin." She walked out of the office, then came back a few seconds later with a set of keys. She walked out the front door to the parking lot with Golem following her. When they got to the parking lot, the woman said to Golem, "We're going to use the van for the driving test." She gave the van keys to Golem and they both got into a beat-up white 1987 Mitsubishi passenger van with brightly-colored peace sign decals all over it. Golem slid the driver's seat all the way back, and when he sat up straight, his head pushed the roof up and formed a large hump in the roof. He adjusted the rearview mirror and tried to put his seat belt on, but he couldn't get it buckled. The seat belt was just too short. The driving teacher pulled on the seat belt as hard as she could, but it still wouldn't reach the buckle. After about five minutes, she finally said, "Oh, just don't worry about it. I doubt if we're gonna have a wreck or something." Golem put the key in the ignition and turned it. The engine made a loud cranking noise, but it wouldn't start up. Golem pressed down on the accelerator pedal and turned the key again. This time the engine started, and a thick blue cloud of smoke formed behind the van. Golem put the van in Reverse, and he slowly backed out of the parking space. He gently pressed down on the brake pedal, and the engine died. Golem put the van in Neutral, pushed the accelerator to the floor, and restarted the van. He put it in Drive and drove the van towards the back parking lot on the other side of the building. When Golem reached the back parking lot, he stopped the van and the engine stalled again.

After Golem finally got the van started again, the driving teacher pointed to a set of cones arranged in a straight line. She told Golem, "I want you to weave in and out of those cones, then turn around and do it again in the other direction, and try not to knock them down." "Okay," said Golem. "I'll try my best." He drove the van closer to the first cone, then pressed the brake pedal. The van slowed down, but didn't stop. Golem steered the van around the cones until he reached the end of the line of cones, and he did it without hitting any of them. Then Golem turned the van around and drove through the cones again, and he didn't hit any that time either. The driving teacher scribbled a few notes in her notepad, then she pointed to another set of cones which were arranged in a rectangle. She said to Golem, "Okay, now I want you to back up and park within those cones without knocking them down." Golem drove to the edge of the parking lot and stopped just past the four cones. He put the van in Reverse and took his foot off the brake. He turned the steering wheel to the right and, while looking out the back window, he lightly tapped the accelerator. Golem got the van between the cones without hitting them, then he put the van in Drive and straightened out the van in the parking space. Golem stopped the van and put it in Park, and the engine sputtered and stopped running. Then the engine began to clunk and knock repeatedly. "Oh great!" complained the driving instructor. "The stupid engine's shot again!" Golem said, "It sounds like either out of oil or gas." Golem got out of the van and opened the hood. He pulled out the oil dipstick, which indicated a low oil level. He asked the driving instructor if there was a bottle of motor oil in the van, and she pulled a half-full bottle of motor oil out from under the front seat and handed it to Golem. He poured the motor oil in the engine, then he got back in the van, pushed down on the accelerator pedal, and turned the key. After seven attempts to get the van started, the engine finally started running, so Golem got out and shut the hood. When he got back in the van, the driving teacher said, "Now, I want you to parallel park in between those cones at the other end of the pavement." Golem drove the van to the other end of the parking lot where another set of cones were arranged in a rectangle. He stopped the van when the middle of the van was next to the last pair of cones, turned the front wheels to the left, and backed up towards the other pair of cones. When the front left wheel passed the cone beside the car, Golem turned the steering wheel to the right and gently pressed the brake pedal. When the van stopped, the back bumper was touching the left cone behind the car. Golem put the van in Drive, turned the steering wheel to the left, and gently tapped the accelerator. The van moved forward slowly, and Golem pressed down on the brake pedal and put the van in Park. The van was parked within the cones, but it was kind of crooked. The driving teacher scribbled some more in her notepad, then she said to Golem, "Okay, you did a very good job so far. Now it's time to drive on the streets." Golem drove the van to the front parking lot and stopped the van at the entrance to the street.

After waiting a couple of minutes for the traffic on Toshiba Boulevard to clear, Golem turned left and stayed in the left lane. As they approached the traffic lights at the Samsung Avenue intersection, the driving instructor told Golem, "Turn left up there at that stoplight." "Okay," replied Golem. He turned on the left turn signals and stopped the van at the red light. The light turned green a few minutes later, and Golem gradually pressed down on the accelerator and turned left onto Samsung Avenue. After Golem passed the junior high school building, the driving teacher said, "You can turn on the radio if you want." Golem turned on the van radio and searched through the stations until he found 92.3, the Smooth Jazz station. The song "Lily Was Here" by Candy Dulfer was playing on that station. Golem drove past Sanyo Road, and the driving teacher said, "You should've turned right at that street." Golem stomped on the brake pedal and the van skidded to a halt. "Oops," he said. "I'm sorry." Just as he put the van in Reverse, the driving instructor said, "Just kidding. You can keep going straight if you want." Golem put the van in Drive and kept going on Samsung Avenue until they approached the Panasonic Drive intersection. The traffic light turned red and Golem stopped the van at the intersection. "Which way do I turn, sensei?" he asked. The instructor said, "Take a left." Golem turned on the left turn signal and when he did, the turn indicator lit up but it wasn't flashing. Golem told the instructor, "Something wrong with the turn signal." The driving instructor said, "Must be either a dead fuse or a burnt out bulb. I'll get it fixed later." When the traffic light turned green, Golem gently pressed down the accelerator and turned left onto Panasonic Drive. The song "The Golden Age" by Hiroshima had just started playing on the radio. Golem was humming along to the music, and the driving teacher was singing along: "I lived beside you. We are the chosen few. We shared this home for a thousand years. Take a look around and you'll see, we leave a stain on a page of history, as the words have all been lost in a stream of tears…But if we learn to love, we could turn to another page, where we will live in peace, together in the golden age…" As they approached the entrance to the shopping center on the right, a gray Chevrolet Blazer pulled out in front of Golem's van. Golem slammed on the brakes and honked the horn and yelled, "Idiot!" The driving teacher said to Golem, "It's okay, man! Just calm down and mellow out." The traffic light up ahead had turned red, and the Blazer had stopped at the Toshiba Boulevard intersection. Golem gradually applied the brakes and the van stopped about two feet behind the truck. The light turned green about five minutes later and it had started to rain. Golem turned on the windshield wipers and the headlights, and continued straight on Panasonic Drive, following behind the gray Blazer and traveling at 40 MPH. The truck slowed down as it approached the stop sign at the Onkyo Street intersection, but didn't stop completely. It was slowly moving towards the stop sign, and it sped up again as it turned right onto Onkyo Street. As Golem's van approached the stop sign, he stopped the van completely, and the engine cut off. He tried to crank it back up about seven times before the engine started running again. Then he put the van in Neutral and put it in Drive again. The driving instructor told Golem, "Go straight on this street, and we can stop for lunch at that diner up ahead." Golem drove straight through the intersection and turned left into the parking lot outside the Enigma Diner. Golem parked the van and the driving teacher got out, but Golem was having some difficulty trying to get out. By the time he got out of the van, it started raining harder. Golem walked with the driving instructor to the front door of the diner.

Golem and the driving teacher sat down in a booth next to a window at the front of the diner. A fat waitress with brown hair walked up to their table and handed them menus. The waitress said, "Hi, my name is Roseanne and I'll be your waitress. Do you want anything to drink?" The driving instructor asked for a glass of sweet tea and Golem asked for a cup of coffee. Two minutes later, the waitress came back to their table and gave the driving teacher a glass of unsweet tea and a pack of Sweet N Low, and she gave Golem a cup of hot muddy water and a pack of Sweet N Low. The waitress asked if they were ready to order, and Golem said, "I'd like a hamburger with fries, please." The driving instructor said, "I just want a cup of vegetable soup." The waitress took their menus and walked back to the kitchen. Five minutes later, she returned with a tray of food. The waitress gave the driving instructor a cup of hot dishwater with pieces of mixed vegetables in it, and she gave Golem a plate that had a rock on dry toast and a small pile of twigs next to it and a bottle of ketchup. The driving teacher slowly sipped her soup, but Golem finished his plate of food within a minute. A few minutes later, the waitress walked by the table and the driving teacher asked for a refill. The waitress returned with another glass of unsweet tea and another pack of Sweet N Low, and she also gave them the check. The teacher looked at the check and she noticed "Sweet Tea – 99 cents" was written twice on the check. She got up and walked up to the cashier, and then Golem got up and left $3 on the table. The driving instructor asked the cashier why the check had sweet tea listed twice, and he explained that they charge full price for refills on drinks. Just then, the waitress spotted Golem standing behind the driving teacher, and she told Golem that customers were not supposed to leave tips and handed the $3 to Golem. Finally, Golem and the driving teacher left the diner and got back in the van.

When they got in the van, Golem turned the key and the ignition cranked repeatedly, but the engine wouldn't start. He turned the key again and stomped on the accelerator pedal, but the engine still refused to start. After seven more tries, he finally got the engine started, and thick blue smoke spewed out of the exhaust pipe. Golem put the van in Reverse, and the engine began rattling loudly as he backed out of the parking space. He put the van in Drive and drove out of the parking lot onto the street. After they turned right onto Panasonic Drive, Golem noticed thick white steam coming out from under the hood. He pulled over onto the hard shoulder and got out and opened the hood. Then more steam spewed from the radiator into Golem's face. Golem saw that the coolant tank next to the radiator was completely empty, so he told the driving teacher, "I'm going to go to a store and buy some radiator fluid. I will be back soon." Then he walked towards the shopping center on the other side of Toshiba Boulevard and ran across the street when the traffic on Toshiba Boulevard stopped at the red light. Golem walked through the front doors of the Loads of Food supermarket, bending over a little to avoid hitting his head. Two minutes later, he came out of the store with a jug of radiator fluid. He made his way back across the street towards the old jalopy of a van, and he poured half the jug of fluid in the van's coolant tank. Golem got back in the driver's seat and got the van started again, and the driving instructor scribbled some more notes in her notepad and said to him, "Golem, it's getting kinda late. You want to go ahead and drive back to the driving school?" "All right," said Golem. "How did I do on my driving test?" The teacher answered, "You did very good. You just have to relax a little more, even when another car cuts you off in traffic. So I gave you a 95 on your driving test." "Okay," Golem said happily. "Thank you, sensei." The driving instructor tore the sheet of paper out of the notepad and gave it to Golem, who said to her, "I am very pleased, sensei."

When Golem drove back to the driving school building, the van's engine was rattling loudly and blue smoke continued to spew out of the exhaust pipe. He parked the van in the front parking lot, positioning it carefully and evenly in the parking space. Then he put the van in Park and shut the engine off and got out. After they both got out of the van, the engine started knocking and clunking loudly for several seconds, then suddenly, one of the back tires deflated. Golem walked into the driving school office with the driving teacher and filled out some papers. A few minutes later, he walked slowly into a room which had several large machines in it. The large rock monster stood in front of one machine which was a camera, and the camera took his picture. The machine next to it printed out his driver's license. Golem took his driver's license and left the driving school, daydreaming about driving around town with the young driving teacher.


	5. Mocchi's Rough Ride

Chapter 5: Mocchi's Rough Ride

After Mocchi took his written driving test yesterday, he arrived at the driving school at 10:30 to take the road test. The little pink monster waited anxiously in the front office for a couple of minutes, and then a slender young man with short, neatly combed black hair walked in the office, carrying a notepad. The man was wearing a light blue dress shirt, khaki trousers, and a yellow tie with a palm tree and the word "MIAMI" printed across it in pink letters. "Hi," he said to Mocchi. "Are you Mocchi?" Mocchi jumped out of his chair and said, "Yep! That's me chi!" "Okay, good," the man said. "I'll be your driving instructor for your road test today. Are you ready to take it?" "You bet chi!" Mocchi replied excitedly. The man gave Mocchi a set of car keys and they both ran out to the parking lot. The young man walked over next to a blue and yellow 1995 Toyota Tercel coupe and told Mocchi, "We're going to use this car." "Okay chi," said Mocchi. He unlocked the car doors and they both got in the car. Mocchi put on his seatbelt but the shoulder strap was in his face, so he pulled the shoulder strap behind his back. Then he adjusted the rearview mirrors and put the key in the ignition. Mocchi pushed the clutch pedal all the way down with his left foot and put his right foot on the brake and started up the car. Then he released the parking brake and put the car in Reverse. While Mocchi backed the car out of the parking space, he released the clutch pedal and occasionally tapped the accelerator pedal. Mocchi then pressed down the brake pedal and the engine stalled while the car rolled slowly backwards. He pulled the parking brake up and pressed the clutch with his left foot, restarted the car, and put it in 1st gear. Mocchi released the parking brake and gently tapped the accelerator after releasing the clutch pedal. The car jerked forward a little bit, but he was able to keep driving towards the back parking lot. When he got to the back parking lot, Mocchi pressed down the clutch and the brake at the same time.

When Mocchi stopped the car at the back parking lot, the driving teacher pointed to the first set of cones and told him, "I want you to drive in and out through those cones, then turn around and do it again in the other direction." Mocchi said, "Okay." Mocchi took his right foot off the brake and gently pressed the accelerator and released the clutch at the same time. Then he took his foot off the accelerator and put his left foot on the clutch and slowly steered the car between the first two cones. When Mocchi turned the wheel to the right, the right corner of the front bumper knocked over one of the cones. Mocchi stomped on the brake pedal and the car jerked to a stop and the engine stalled. The driving teacher scribbled a little bit in his notepad and said, "Okay, just start the car up again and keep going through the cones." Mocchi restarted the car and released the clutch while he pressed down on the accelerator pedal. He was able to steer around the left side of the next cone, then he turned the wheel all the way to the right and got the car through the last two cones in the line. Mocchi turned the car around and stopped on the right side of the last cone in the line, and the driving instructor got out and repositioned the cone that Mocchi had knocked down earlier. After he got back in the passenger seat, Mocchi steered the car through the cones in the opposite direction. When Mocchi reached the fourth cone in the line, he stomped on the clutch and the brake pedals at the same time and the car stopped jerkily. As he put the car in Reverse, the gearbox made a loud grinding noise. Mocchi backed the car up a few feet and then shifted to 1st gear, and the gearbox made the same noise again. He released the clutch and turned the steering wheel hard to the left and gently pressed the accelerator down. After he passed through the cones, Mocchi turned the wheel all the way to the right and made it through the last two cones. Then the driving teacher pointed to another set of cones on the other side of the parking lot and told Mocchi, "Okay, now I want you to drive towards those cones and back up inside the cones." "Okay." Mocchi said nervously. Mocchi drove to the other side of the lot and stopped the car after it passed the set of cones arranged in a rectangular pattern. He put the car in Reverse and turned around to look out the back window, and he let go of the brake pedal and gently pressed down the accelerator pedal. As he approached the cones, Mocchi took his foot off the accelerator and turned the steering wheel to the left. When he backed up inside the cones, Mocchi turned the steering wheel to the right and pressed the brake pedal. Mocchi pulled up the parking brake and he saw that the car was parked unevenly in between the cones. He released the parking brake and shifted the car to 1st gear, then he let go of the clutch pedal and the car stalled. Mocchi restarted the car, and as it moved slowly forward, he turned the wheel to the left. Then he put the car in Reverse and backed up in between the cones again, and this time the car was positioned more evenly within the cones. Mocchi pulled up the parking brake and the driving teacher scribbled a few notes in his notepad. Then the driving instructor pointed out the driver's side window at another set of cones on the other side of the parking lot and said, "Now I want you to drive to those cones and parallel park between them." Mocchi released the parking brake and put the car in 1st gear and let go of the clutch. As he turned the steering wheel to the left, the little car started jerking forward, so Mocchi pressed down the accelerator pedal and drove towards a set of cones arranged in a rectangle. When the front wheels passed the last cone, Mocchi stopped the car and the engine stalled. Mocchi restarted the car, shifted to Reverse, and turned the steering wheel to the right. He let go of the brake and clutch pedals at the same time and pressed down the accelerator a little too hard. The car jerked backwards and knocked over the cone behind it. Mocchi slammed on the brake and shifted to 1st gear, and the driving instructor said, "Just try again and be a little more careful." Mocchi drove the car forward slowly and stopped. The driving instructor got out and stood the knocked-over cone back up. Then he got back in the car and Mocchi put the car in Reverse, this time gently pressing down the accelerator. He turned around to see out the back window and turned the steering wheel to the right. As the car came closer to the cones behind it, Mocchi pressed down the brake pedal. Then he put the car in 1st gear, turned the steering wheel to the left a little, and let go of the brake and clutch. The car jerked forward and knocked over both of the cones in front of it. Mocchi stomped on the brake pedal and started crying. "I can't parallel park!" he whined. "Don't worry," said the driving teacher calmly. "You can try again." Mocchi put the car in Reverse and backed up a little. The driving teacher got out and set up the cones that Mocchi knocked over. When he got back in the car, Mocchi put the car in 1st gear and slowly drove forward. As he got closer to the cones, Mocchi stopped the car and pulled up the parking brake. The driving teacher scribbled a few more notes in his notepad, then he said to Mocchi, "You did okay, but you just need some more practice with your parallel parking. Now I think you're ready to drive on the streets." "All right chi!" Mocchi said happily.

While Mocchi was waiting to turn right onto Toshiba Boulevard, it started to rain, so he turned on the windshield wipers. He finally saw a clear space in traffic, so he turned on the right turn signal and released the clutch pedal while gently pressing down the accelerator as he turned right and stayed in the right lane. Mocchi shifted to 2nd gear as he accelerated towards the Sanyo Road intersection. He noticed that the traffic lights had changed to yellow, so he pushed the brake and clutch pedals at the same time and shifted to 1st gear. While Mocchi was waiting for the traffic lights to turn green, he turned on the right turn indicators. The driving teacher turned on the radio and pushed the tuning button to set the radio on 98.7 The River which plays love songs from the 70's and 80's. When the traffic lights turned green, Mocchi released the clutch and pressed down the accelerator a little too hard, and the little car jerked forward violently and the engine cut off. Mocchi pushed down the clutch with his left foot and put his right foot on the brake as he restarted the car. He took his foot off the brake pedal and pushed down the accelerator just as he released the clutch. The car moved forward much more smoothly and made it through the intersection onto Sanyo Road. The driving instructor scribbled some notes in his notepad and then he turned up the radio a little. The song "Tiny Dancer" by Sir Elton John was playing, and the driving teacher said, "This is one of my most favorite songs." Mocchi said, "Mine too chi." Then they started singing: "Hold me closer tiny dancer; Count the headlights on the highway; Lay me down in sheets of linen; you had a busy day today…" While Mocchi was driving down Sanyo Road through the residential area, he saw a yellow station wagon stopped at the entrance to the parking lot of an apartment building. Suddenly the station wagon turned right and pulled out in front of Mocchi's car, and the little pink and green monster slammed on the brake and jerked the steering wheel to the left, causing the car to spin out across the wet street. He started the car back up and shifted from 3rd gear to 1st gear which caused the gearbox to make a loud grunting noise. Then he made a U-turn, and continued driving down the street while the driving teacher scribbled some notes in his notepad. As Mocchi approached the stop sign at the Samsung Avenue intersection, he pushed down the clutch pedal while gently applying the brakes and shifted to 1st gear. As he was stopping at the stop sign, the radio announcer said, "Your station for laughter and sorrow, heartbreak and tears, and those post-therapy session blues, 98.7 The River." Mocchi turned left onto Samsung Avenue and accelerated to 45 MPH. The radio station began a 10-minute commercial break which included commercials for Barnes Restaurant, Memorial Health Medical Center, and Audio Warehouse. A couple of minutes after Mocchi turned left onto Samsung Avenue, he whined, "Mocchi hungry." The driving instructor said, "We can take a lunch break in a little while, okay?" "Okay," Mocchi replied. He noticed that the traffic lights up ahead had just turned yellow, so he slammed on the brakes and the car slid on the wet street past the crosswalk and came to a stop in the middle of the intersection at Panasonic Drive. Mocchi shifted to Reverse and backed the car up until it was behind the crosswalk. At that time, a police car had stopped behind Mocchi's car. When the traffic lights turned green, Mocchi tapped the accelerator as he released the clutch, but he didn't realize, until after the little car bumped into the police car, that he left the car in Reverse. Mocchi was in a panic as he tried to shift back into 1st gear, causing the gearbox to grunt loudly and the engine to shut off. After a minute, the little pink and green monster got the car started, put it in 1st gear, and continued straight through the intersection. Then the song "I Just Died in Your Arms" by Cutting Crew began playing on the car radio. As Mocchi continued driving on Samsung Avenue, the police car followed about two feet behind his car. Just as Mocchi shifted from 3rd to 4th gear at 40 MPH, the police car passed the little Toyota at 65 MPH and just barely missed the front bumper when it got in front. A couple of minutes later, Mocchi had reached the Sony Expressway on-ramp, where he saw that the police car had lost control and crashed into the guardrail at the top of the on-ramp. The driving teacher pointed and laughed at the wrecked patrol car and Mocchi turned on the left turn indicators, pressed down the clutch, took his foot off the accelerator, and shifted to 2nd gear. He stopped the car under the bridge while the radio was playing the last part of the song. When the song finished, the radio announcer was singing, "I just died in your arms tonight; It must have been something you said; I just died in your arms tonight." Mocchi was waiting to turn left onto the Sony Expressway on-ramp. When the oncoming traffic cleared, he took his foot off the clutch and the car jerked forward and stalled. Mocchi restarted the little car and turned left onto Sony Expressway, and the radio began playing "Silver, Blue and Gold" by Bad Company. Mocchi accelerated to 55 MPH and had successfully shifted to 5th gear on the highway, and he turned on the right turn indicators when he saw the off-ramp a couple of minutes later. He took his foot off the accelerator while pressing down the clutch and he shifted to 2nd gear just before stopping at the bottom of the exit ramp.

After he waited for an open space in the traffic on Toshiba Boulevard, Mocchi turned right and the car jerked a little as he shifted from 1st to 2nd gear. By the time the car reached 37 MPH, the driving instructor told Mocchi, "Turn right at the next parking lot, and then we can have lunch." Mocchi slowed down and turned on the right turn indicators, and then he turned right into the parking lot of Carey Hilliard's. Mocchi found an empty space at the end of the parking lot and he stopped the car in it. Then he put the car in Neutral and pulled up the parking brake, and he got out and went into the restaurant with the driving teacher. Mocchi and the driving instructor sat in a booth at the front of the restaurant and were looking at the menu. A waitress came to their table and asked, "Hello. What would you like to drink?" Mocchi said, "Coke chi," and the driving instructor said, "Sweet tea, please." The waitress brought them their drinks thirty seconds later, and then she asked, "Are you ready to order?" "Barbecue sandwich and fries!" said Mocchi excitedly. The driving teacher said, "I'd like the fried shrimp and baked potato with a side salad." The waitress scribbled on her notepad and walked back to the kitchen. The waitress returned seven minutes later carrying a tray with Mocchi and the driving teacher's food on it. She placed the plate of fried shrimp and baked potato and the bowl of salad in front of the driving teacher, and she placed the plate with the barbecue sandwich and fries in front of Mocchi. After they started eating, the driving instructor asked Mocchi, "How is it?" Mocchi answered, "Good chi. How's yours?" The teacher answered, "It's really good." After a while, the waitress brought their check which totaled $14.26. When they were finished eating, the driving teacher took the check to the cashier and paid it while Mocchi left two Gold coins on the table.

Mocchi and the driving instructor got back in the car after leaving Carey Hilliard's. Mocchi started the car and shifted it to Reverse. He pressed the accelerator while he released the clutch and slowly backed out of the parking space, while the radio was playing a commercial for Shady Acres Condominium Complex. Then he shifted to 1st gear and drove out of the parking lot, turning right onto Toshiba Boulevard. When he got onto the busy street, the car radio was playing a commercial for O. C. Welch Ford. After the commercial ended, the radio announcer said, "More mood swings than your pregnant wife, 98.7 The River," and then the song "Missing You" by John Waite started playing. After he shifted to 4th gear, Mocchi accelerated until the car reached 45 MPH. Other cars were passing Mocchi's car in the left lane going 50 or 60 MPH, but Mocchi stayed at 45 MPH and continued through the Panasonic Drive intersection. The driving instructor scribbled a few notes in his notepad. Mocchi turned on the left turn indicators and moved into the left lane. As he came closer to the Sanyo Road intersection, the traffic lights changed from green to yellow, so Mocchi took his foot off the accelerator and pressed the clutch and brake pedals at the same time as he shifted to 1st gear. He stopped the car in the left lane as the traffic lights changed to red. Two minutes later, the traffic lights turned green, and Mocchi accelerated through the intersection and slowed down as he approached the left turn lane in front of the driving school. He stopped the car and turned on the left turn signals and waited for several seconds for a clear space in the traffic. As soon as the traffic cleared, Mocchi turned left and drove into the front parking lot of the driving school. He stopped the car in a parking space, pulled up the parking brake, and shut off the engine.

The driving instructor looked over the notes he wrote and he said to Mocchi, "You definitely need to work on your driving." Mocchi looked at the driving instructor with a confused expression on his face and said, "Why chi?" The driving teacher ripped the page out of his notepad and showed it to Mocchi, saying, "Well, for starters, you took a long time to parallel park, not to mention you knocked over most of the cones doing that; you also slam on the brakes like you think the car will stop on a dime; and you have lots of trouble operating a manual transmission. Your driving skills are definitely not good." The little pink monster looked at the driving instructor and asked sadly, "Mocchi failed?" "No," replied the driving instructor. "You passed the driving test, but just barely. You got a 72 on your test, so you'll still be able to get your license." He handed Mocchi the paper with the grade written on it, and Mocchi said excitedly, "I passed! I passed! I passed! I passed!" They both got out of the car and walked in the building. After Mocchi filled out some paperwork in the front office, he walked into another room which had several large machines in it. Mocchi stood in front of one machine which took his picture, and a little while later, another machine printed out his driver's license. Mocchi held the license in his hands and looked at it for several seconds. He was very pleased to see his picture printed in color and his name printed in bold letters under the picture. He turned it over and noticed that on the back, the word "RESTRICTIONS" was printed in bold capital letters, and under it the phrase, "May not operate vehicles with manual transmission" was printed in small letters. Mocchi jumped up and down and said loudly, "I got my license! I got my license!" When Mocchi was walking towards the front door, he walked into the front office, and then he walked up to his driving instructor and gave him a hug.


End file.
